Fortunately the pram avoided a live electric rail but the baby did suffer with minor cuts and bruising, according to GetSurrey.

A report from the Rail Accident Investigation Bureau found that: "the individuals in charge of the wheelchair and pushchair had not applied the brakes and had not noticed that the platform sloped towards the track."

It continued: "There was nothing to alert users of either station to the presence of the slope.

"The railway industry had generally recorded previous incidents of a similar nature as due solely to errors by the individuals concerned.

"As a consequence, the industry had not recognised the part that sloping platforms had played in the incidents."

The report went on to say the platform had a one in 40 slope towards the railway, a remnant from its construction in 1900.

"The Wellingborough accident report recommended that platforms should be level, or slope away from the track," added the RAIB.

"However, the government requirements for new railway construction were not modified accordingly, and the recommendation seems to have been forgotten."

Southern railways

Pram poster from Southern Railways

The RAIB has suggested the slope could have been increased by work in 2010 and 2011, and found that the brakes had not been applied because the mother did not realise there was a slope and there was nothing to inform her that there was.

A Southern spokesman described the incident, which happened on September 18 last year, as distressing.

He added: "Southern fully co-operated with the RAIB on the investigation and has implemented recommendations made in the report to try and prevent this happening again, including warning posters, advice in our accessibility guide and working with Network Rail to take into account platform slopes when any resurfacing or upgrade work is undertaken.

"We would also remind all users of pushchairs or wheelchairs to apply the brakes when stationary on a platform.”

Meanwhile Network Rail is looking at stations with sloping platforms and adding warnings or relocation station furniture but is also encouraging passengers to apply the brakes on platforms.

"Network Rail is now building a database of stations with platform slopes and will use this to identify the highest risk locations and actions that we can take to reduce the risk," said a spokesman.

"Network Rail and train operators are committed to improving safety across the network and between us we are focussing on how we can tackle the issue of platform slopes and provide better warnings to passengers.

"Whyteleafe station was built in 1900 and the safety standards we have today did not exist then.

"As a result, the platform was built with a slope towards the track, probably to help water drain away."